Dear members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:

As health professionals, we write to ask you to support a cleaner and healthier future for all Americans by giving clean energy a boost. Specifically we urge you to update and extend tax credits and incentives for clean energy solutions that will clean up our air and save lives. In the midst of a global pandemic we know to be exacerbated by air pollution, we cannot afford to let the transition to clean energy slow down.

Clean energy means clean air

The burning of fossil fuels for energy pollutes our air and puts our health at risk. With a direct linkage between increased hospitalization and death rates from COVID-19 in communities with poor air quality, it’s critical that our government priorities include eliminating air pollution through all mechanisms possible. This means transitioning off of fossil fuels and to a fully clean energy powered economy.

Recommendations

We ask that you update and extend tax credits for the following clean energy solutions:

Renewable energy: Solar and wind power, and other clean energy sources, enjoy tremendous support across the political spectrum, and are critical to cleaning up our air.

Energy storage: Energy storage helps integrate more renewable energy into our electric grid and thus supports a cleaner healthier future.

Electric vehicles: Increasing the number of electric vehicles that are eligible for the existing tax credit will increase the number of electric vehicles on the road, reducing emissions and improving air quality in our communities.

Energy efficiency: Saving energy is key to any smart clean energy plan. Energy efficiency represents the most cost-effective way to reduce air pollution from our energy system. Extending and updating tax incentives for homeowners, multi-family dwellings and businesses will help reduce harmful air pollution.

Federal clean energy tax incentives play a critical role in advancing solutions that reduce air pollution, improve our health and enhance our quality of life. Maintaining progress means taking action to support renewable energy before our best mechanisms to do so expire. We ask you to invest in our health and that future by updating, extending, and modernizing clean energy tax incentives.

Thank you,